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I think the Rooney's make sure that the 'emblem' is the star, not any one player, and that is why they have never fully handed the offense over to Ben like most teams do with a true franchise QB. They really didn't have a true 'brand' until the 70's and once the right players were finally drafted in the 70's and won championships and the city went crazy for those teams and their style of play, that was the brand they chose.

That emblem stands for old school smash mouth football that is led by a vicious defense and a bash your face in running game. They even keep the old sandlot feel by keeping the natural grass mud hole that freezes into the look of an old cow pasture come January. They don't want some high fallutin' finesse offense that throws the ball 45 times a game. They want a run first offense where their offensive line punches the other team in the mouth and they impose their will on the opposition.

Problem is, they don't have players that fit that mold. They have a franchise QB, 3 fast, small WR's whose games are based off of their speed and shiftiness. They have some crappy oft injured linemen that rarely impose their will on anyone. They have two 'ok' power backs but don't have that extra oomph that Franco or Bettis had to plow dudes over or make their own holes. They have one RB that has talent but isn't built as a strictly between the tackles RB like they want in Mendy so he is oft injured and doesn't have the mental approach to be a power back. they drafted Rainey which is a wasted pick considering they have no running plays off tackle. They don't have that Dan Kreider FB anymore that will fly through a hole with wreck less abandon and smash LB's. the only truly hardcore throwback players they do have on offense are Ben and Heath.

The old school style they want doesn't fit the talent on the team, or today's NFL. Let's face it, we won the recent Superbowls off the backs of our defense and those hardcore throwback types like Smith, Casey, Troy, Harrison, Farrier, are past their prime or already retired. We now have their ghosts on the field surrounded by too few impact players or players that have talent but are oft injured.

You are right: they play "not to lose" even though Cowher is gone. That attitude must be inherent from the Rooneys themselves, or why do different coaches seemingly coach the same way? I love how Brady, Belichick and the Pats just jack up teams and go aggressive and tear them a new butt hole. That is the way to roll, not this wussy, "I am scared to be burned" mindset. New England is also aggressive with weeding out bad attitudes; they don't play pitty pat once a player has a non-team attitude - they cut them out like cancer. Not this team; they wait until the season is ruined before they make any moves to stamp out players with bad attitudes. Wallace should have been dealt with many weeks ago.

What about the way Bellichick presents his injury report (which seems to be a major issue for you, since you so strongly objected to the Steelers lying to you about Polamalu's calf injury)? Belichick routinely lists nearly 2 dozen players all as questionable, whether they have a broken bone or a hangnail. At one point, I believe Brady was listed as questionable in every game for something like 2 or 3 years without missing a single snap. Players are never probable, doubtful, or out (unless on I.R.)...they are always questionable.

To add to my post above, I think that conservative approach is why we have the 'play down to the competition' games. We shut it down on offense or go conservative on defense and then one mistake allows the other team back in the game.

i can probably name at least 20 teams with a better feature back or a better #1 receiver.

we've drafted guys in the past to strengthen that but mendy is a dancing bust (pretty much) and they choose not to bring back #1 receiver types after their 1st contract which will probably continue as they let wallace go ( a real good #2 guy IMO)

It's all of the above. For what it requires from the offense, the o-line for Mendy to have a good game or season then, pretty much any back could produce under the perfect conditions. At least Dwyer and Redman will put up a fight.
I put most things on coaching for having poor issues on the field. Maybe not the offensive turnovers but everything else. I have a construction company and I know when I am the resosn why things are not getting done and when things are getting completed. If I don't prepare my guys, be prepared myself, it's like one step forward and two steps back on the job. Right now we have a lot of work and I've made the mistake of delegating certain things and it hasn't worked out. My crew these Steelers need a leader/coach that is on top of everything and the Steelers do not. As much as I hate Bellicheat, his team always seems foused and nothing comes as a surprise to him or what have you. He's still a no good sour puss cheating unproffesional bastard but outside of that, his teams are well coached. Even when he was with the Browns I would think, " they do't have a lot of talent on that team but, their coach gets the most of of them. " Tomlin doesn't seem to have that ability, Lebeau seems too timid or he recognizes he doesn't have the talent or healthy players to be aggresive. I don't know what it is but it all falls upon the coaches.

The Steelers desperately need a beast of a WR, a guy that can win one-on-one jumpballs, a guy that can take hits on a crossing route, a guy that can fight for the ball. the current crop is all about speed and quickness, but that only gets you so much. We saw what SD did. Play press coverage and knock them off their routes. It's easy to do when the CB outweights the WR by 20 lbs.
Heath Miller is the only receiver that can turn on the beast-mode and break the offensive doldrums.

Every keeps drooling over Belichick as the coach who always has his team focused and ready to play all the time. How many titles has he won since SpyGate stopped? Zero. During SpyGate, New England wins titles in 3 out of 4 seasons. As soon as SpyGate ends, Pittsburgh wins titles in 2 out of the next 4 seasons. New England was 9-0 in the playoffs with 3 titles during SpyGate, and 7-6 in the playoffs with 0 titles after SpyGate. Screw them. When allowed to cheat, Belichick's teams performed at an all-time great level...Lombardi-like. When not allowed to cheat, he is still a good coach, but by no means on an elite level...he gets his teams to the playoffs on a regular basis but can't quite seems to reach that championship threshold...Schottenheimer-like.

Every keeps drooling over Belichick as the coach who always has his team focused and ready to play all the time. How many titles has he won since SpyGate stopped? Zero. During SpyGate, New England wins titles in 3 out of 4 seasons. As soon as SpyGate ends, Pittsburgh wins titles in 2 out of the next 4 seasons. New England was 9-0 in the playoffs with 3 titles during SpyGate, and 7-6 in the playoffs with 0 titles after SpyGate. Screw them. When allowed to cheat, Belichick's teams performed at an all-time great level...Lombardi-like. When not allowed to cheat, he is still a good coach, but by no means on an elite level...he gets his teams to the playoffs on a regular basis but can't quite seems to reach that championship threshold...Schottenheimer-like.

I can only speak for myself, but 9 times out of ten when the Pats are favored to win they do and routinely crush crappy teams while we have to hold our breath every game. If you watch that team there is no denying they execute the gameplan typically to precision.